Artificial Intelligence has been mentioned for several years as a game-changer in the horticultural industry, but it took quite a while before actual applications were rolled out for greenhouses. In 2023, we've published several stories on growers working with AI in their enterprises. Please find a selection of 10 articles below.
Autonomous growing:
"The point isn't to eliminate human labor, but to make the work easier for my employees”
The current world is being taken over by AI. The internet has been flooded with illustrations, and even videos created by AI. While some people are concerned that may cost them their job, growers are very much looking forward to the infamous autonomous growing.
The road to that is getting shorter and shorter, also thanks to operations like DC Farms out of Leamington, Canada. “I saw this AI opportunity about 4 years ago.,” says Michael Del Ciancio, Manager at DC Farms. “The company I was working with at the time was biting more than it could chew. You know, everybody has these grandiose ideas, and that can get quite overwhelming. Eventually, it all comes down to which AI is good for me.” Michael describes a quite common situation in the horti industry, where growers need to find the way through tech companies claiming they found the sorcerer’s stone.
Autonomous Growing: 5% higher yield and new expansion possible
Bresca Hortalizas is a tomato-producing greenhouse company in Puebla, Mexico. The company that produces tomatoes for Mastronardi Sunset has been working with Crop Controller by Blue Radix since July 2021. With Autonomous Growing, they wanted to achieve better control over daily operations and improve predictability. In this interview, Head Grower Manuel Valdes Lara and Grower Karla Denisse Abundis talk more about the added value of Autonomous Growing that they experienced after completing several crop cycles.
AI powered greenhouse outperforms Dutch growers
It comes as no surprise to Dutch greenhouse owner Frank van Kleef that an AI-powered greenhouse outperforms the benchmark Dutch grower - after all, there's a reason he left his own greenhouse company to join the British/Dutch company, Optimal, which is pioneering AI-powered greenhouse cultivation. In their commercial-scale greenhouse in Westdorpe, Optimal's system is already achieving higher yields and higher Brix levels while also saving energy and reducing CO2 emissions. "The computer is always consistent in its decisions," Frank explains.
Frestia:
"Camera technology and AI enhance our quality and crop process"
Based in Honselersdijk (NL), Frestia is constantly looking for new insights and developments to improve the quality of its product and to optimize the crop process. That's where Gearbox comes in. Located just a short drive away in Maasdijk, Gearbox produces high-tech robotic solutions that support the horticultural sector to work smarter and in a data-driven manner.
"Growers pointed out the importance of registering leaves"
Plant registration app also rolled out for sweet pepper and cucumber
A bunch of ripe tomatoes here, a pollinated flower there, and oh, there seems to be a fruit 'aborted'. Tomato growers working with Source.ag use the app to record plant data that gives them new insights and enables AI control of cultivation. Since the beginning of this year, the app has also been live for pepper growers, while cucumber growers can count on the real rollout soon. So says Ernst van Bruggen during a demo of the latest developments the day before GreenTech. At the fair, the co-founder of the fast-growing Amsterdam-based company expects to give a lot more demos. "I have cleared my diary," he laughs.
IUNU unveils tomato imaging system at Indoor Ag-Con
After years of research and development, IUNU unveiled its new
imaging system for tomato growers at Indoor Ag-Con in Las Vegas. The technology can be used by growers to collect comprehensive crop data from fruit to flower. "Combined with the LUNA AI software platform, this is the most detailed imaging and analysis system on the market."
Switzerland: B eerstecher puts ETH picking robot into operation
"We are impressed with how well the robot handles picking and defoliation"
Salman Faraji of ETH Zurich's Robotic Systems Lab (RSL) and his team have developed a robot that does some of the work and can be easily integrated into existing systems. "Our system combines robotics, image processing and advanced AI. It sounds simple, but the technology is backed by two years of intensive research and programming at ETH. The biggest challenge was teaching the robot to recognize thin objects correctly," Salman says. The robot consists of a robotic arm with a gripper and scissors, cameras, and parallel processing capabilities. The arm can be mounted on an existing maintenance cart used in greenhouses. A crate system will be added for harvesting.
AI tools help berry growers predict yield
Berries are no longer a luxury fruit - they are an everyday superfood. Berry consumption has grown across the world, and berry farmers recognize the need to increase production to meet the increase in appetite.
BloomX on AI data, biomimicking machines, and a better controlled pollination
Increased productivity and control through artificial pollination
After spending the first few years of the company's existence improving and field testing their products, the Israel-based artificial pollination solutions company BloomX is now ready to increase their reach on the global market.
Automatic crop registration and auto-scouting added to OKO
Automatic crop registration and automatic IPM scouting have been added to ecoation's OKO 360 camera capabilities. The OKO, equipped with an embedded GPU similar to what's used in self-driving cars, has been trained for the past 2 years in greenhouses across Canada, Mexico, and Europe. With an edge-based universal model, the ecoation 360 camera can perform a variety of image processing tasks. These tasks include but are not limited to counting flowers, trusses, plant heads, the number of fruits, assessing their color and ripeness, and measuring the leaf area index. The camera can also detect pest and disease-related symptoms on the foliage of crops and calculate the percentage of foliage with health issues. So far, the system has been exposed to thrips, aphids, spider mites, whiteflies, loopers, and powdery mildew.